Now it’s official: Zuccarello demoted

New York, April 1, 2011 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that forward Mats Zuccarello has been assigned to the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Zuccarello, 23, has registered six goals and 16 assists for 22 points, along with four penalty minutes in 41 games this season. He leads the Rangers with nine power play assists, and is tied for sixth with nine power play points. Zuccarello also leads the team and is tied for fifth and second in the NHL, respectively, with five shootout goals and three shootout game-deciding goals, and ranks second on the Rangers with a 55.6% shootout percentage. He has posted four multi-point performances this season, including a career-high, three-assist effort on January 25 vs. Florida and his first career multi-goal game with two goals on March 6 vs. Philadelphia. Zuccarello made his NHL debut on December 23 vs. Tampa Bay, tallying a shootout goal in the contest. He recorded his first NHL point with a power play assist on December 27 vs. the New York Islanders, and notched his first career goal with the overtime game-winner on January 5 vs. Carolina.

Zuccarello returns to Connecticut where he has registered 13 goals and 12 assists for 25 points, along with 16 penalty minutes in 33 games this season. He recorded 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in his last 21 AHL games with four goals and five assists in his last seven contests prior to his recall on December 27. He was tied for second among AHL rookies and ranked third on the team in goals, and ranked fourth among league rookies and fourth on Connecticut in points at the time of his recall. He also ranked third on the team with 98 shots on goal, and was tied for fourth in assists and power play goals (three). Zuccarello posted an AHL career-high, four points, including his first career hat trick in a 7-1 win vs. Bridgeport on November 7. He made his AHL debut on October 9 vs. Charlotte, and tallied his first career point with a goal on October 15 at Albany.

The Oslo, Norway native signed with the Rangers as a free agent on May 26, 2010.

Rick Carpiniello, 26, was born and raised in Harrison and began working in The Journal News' sports department (back when it was The Reporter Dispatch and eight other newspapers) in October of 1977 after a year of covering high school sports as a stringer. In 1978 he began covering the New York Rangers and the National Hockey League. Carpiniello has been writing columns on everything from local sports to the big leagues since 2002.